The number of Covid-19 patients to die in the UK has risen by 351 to 36,393.
Of the latest confirmed fatalities, 121 occurred in hospitals in England, 24 in Scotland, seven in Wales and three in Northern Ireland.
The youngest victim in England was 41, health bosses confirmed, while three of the 121 had no known underlying health condition.
A further 3,287 people were confirmed to have the virus, the Department of Health and Social Care said, bringing the total number of cases to 254,195 since the start of the pandemic.
Earlier today Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed 24 new Covid-19 deaths in Scotland.
It brings the Scottish death toll to 2,245, while in Wales 1,254 people have died in hospital.
The number of coronavirus patients to die in English hospitals currently stands at 25,387, while 504 have died in Northern Ireland.
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Health authorities have provided a geographic breakdown showing where hospital deaths occurred.
- East of England - 25
- London - 16
- Midlands - 27
- North East & Yorkshire - 12
- North West - 23
- South East - 15
- South West - 3
- Scotland - 24
- Wales - 7
- Northern Ireland - 3
Yesterday the total number of lives lost to the killer virus stood at 36,042, while the number of confirmed cases passed 25,000.
The tragic figure was released at the government grapples with controversial plans to partially reopen primary schools from June 1.
The proposed move has sparked a backlash from teachers, unions and parents, and today Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle said schools should decide for themselves if it is safe to reopen.
This morning it emerged that scientists have warned that June 1 is too early to reopen schools - as the government's SAGE committee is set to release its own advice.
A committee which calls itself "Independent Sage" - rivalling the Government's group of scientific advisers - claims the risk to children would be halved if ministers delayed the planned reopening by two weeks to mid-June.
Earlier today a senior government advisor said acting sooner would have made a "big difference" to the death rate.
Sir Ian Boyd, a member of the Sage scientific advisory group, claimed politicians may have been held back by concerns about the public reaction to measures.
Speaking on the BBC's Coronavirus Newscast, Sir Ian said: "Acting very early was really important and I would have loved to have seen us acting a week or two weeks earlier and it would have made quite a big difference to the steepness of the curve of infection and therefore the death rate."
He continued: "One could point the finger at ministers and politicians for not being willing to listen to scientific advice.
"You could point the finger at scientists for not actually being explicit enough.
"But at the end of the day all these interact with public opinion as well.
"And I think some politicians would have loved to have reacted earlier but in their political opinion it probably wasn't feasible because people wouldn't have perhaps responded in the way they eventually did."
Sir Ian also said that he believes the statement "we are guided by the science" is slightly misleading.
